Anticipation

Rick and Daryl's boots crunched in the snow, stepping out of their shelter and peering around. The snow had stopped, for the time being.

Rick was nervous, through the snow had finally stopped after pounding down from the sky for a whole week. It'd been the worst winter in Georgia any of them had seen for years.

After leaving Wiltshire estates, the weather bounded on them quick, going from rain, freezing rain, to snowstorms. The RV wasn't in the right shape to drive through most of the storms, so they would have to stop and find a place to rest or were forced to wait it out in the RV.

With the weather holding them back, scavenging had been next to impossible. It was the same with hunting. In result, they had no choice but to eat what they had. After weeks of the weather spoiling their place, close to a month after the events of Wiltshire estates, they were running dangerously low on food.

The snow on the ground was only about half a foot. But it was still very cold.

"Think you could hunt in this weather?"

Daryl nodded, "gonna try. Never wan'ta touch a can again s'long as I live."

They both continued to look around, trying to figure out their next move. The RV was parked on the road.

"We'll take the RV, try to get further out, we passed a wooded area a few miles before stopping here." Rick said.

"I remember. The way the weather was we couldn't stop. Lucky we found here." Daryl glanced behind him at the small general store they'd been staying for five days. The place had been cleaned out of food. All that was left were some candy bars, gum, and cigarette packs.

"Don't like how those clouds are lookin'," Daryl commented on the dark sky.

"Can't be picky," Rick said. "This is the clearest it's been for a long time."

Daryl agreed. Together they went back inside to gather the others, filling them in on the plan.

"We're back tracking?" Sasha questioned their idea.

"Only a few miles," Rick assured. "We don't know what's ahead of us and it could make for a good hunting area. It's clear outside-"

"-Exactly, this is the weather at it's best, we should just be pushing forward."

Tyreese placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, "Rick is right. We need to trust him on this. We're part of the reason the food is low. We should do everything we can to help replenish it."

Rick shook his head, "no, everyone has to eat, this isn't on anyone."

"I know, Rick. You're right. But you helped us off the road, accepted us and shared what you had. We can repay you by finding our food and finding food for everyone else."

Rick smiled at his friend, "whatever you say."

Sasha rolled her eyes at Tyreese, "whatever you say." She didn't argue anymore.

As the group started piling out, Daryl noticed something. He put his hand in front of Carl to stop him before he went out. "Where's-"

"-Behind the counter."

Daryl scrunched his eyebrows, "ya tell-"

Carl nodded his head, he did tell her they were leaving, "she ignored me."

Daryl let him go and walked to the back where the counter was. He stopped when he saw her. Behind the counter were other shelves, where cigarettes and other things were kept. But most of the shelves were bare. Daryl had taken and packed up all the cigarettes he found, along with anything else mildly useful. She was wearing this grey puffy coat, it was old and dirty, it has some holes with stuffing coming out in a few places. The coat was oversized and made a lot of noise as she walked, but it kept her warm.

"The hell are ya doin'?"

Toby was above the counter, climbing up the shelves. She was reaching for the highest one, atop a shelf, but from where he stood, Daryl couldn't see anything.

"Hey!"

Toby turned her head.

"Well? What the fuck?"

"Gun."

"That ain't even close to an answer?" Daryl hated this one-word game she'd been playing. For a while, Daryl thought it was better than her being completely silent, but lately, it'd been annoying him more. One word answers took longer to interpret than he wanted to admit it.

He saw she'd placed her gun on the counter to climb, Shane's hat was next to it.

"Yer guns here," he told her.

"No."

"Yes?" Daryl scrunched his face up at her ridiculousness.

"No."

"Toby, fuck! Look," he reached for it, and just as he did, Toby jumped down from where she was.

"NO!" Daryl's hand had just touched the gun as she hit it away and grabbed it. "DON'T TOUCH IT!"

"OKAY!" Daryl yelled back, "DON'T FUCKIN' YELL AT ME!"

Toby looked away from him, holding the gun protectively with both hands, her face red with frustration.

Daryl took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. This had been their normal lately. Toby giving one or two-word answers, still usually keeping quiet but not as much as before. In the last month or so she'd been either extremely calm, or she threw some kind of fit.

Another thing Daryl had noticed, along with just about everyone else, was that Toby had become overly territorial with Shane's gun.

The first time Daryl noticed was at a house they'd found to stay the night. They'd all been sitting down to eat, Toby had sat beside Daryl on the couch. The gun fell out of her waistband as she sat. when everyone was done eating, she'd only had a few bites. She stood up, leaving the gun behind. Daryl took the gun, letting her know she's dropped it. When she turned around, her eyes went wild, ripping the gun from his hands and screaming, screaming not to touch it, that it wasn't his. She didn't care for the reason he picked it up.

Daryl pushed the memory away, wanting to forget it ever happened.

"C'mon, we're leavin'. Gonna find a place ta hunt nearby, if yer done bein' nuts you can come with me."

"Stores have guns."

"At gun stores."

"No." Toby glanced behind her at the counter.

"Oh, ya mean the cashiers. Yeah sometimes. We cleared this place out, wasn't anythin' here. If there was one, someone took it."

"Not the ammo."

"What?"

Toby gestured to the box of bullets at the far side of the counter.

"Where'd ya find that?"

"There."

"But we looked there." Daryl thought about it, "That why you were climbin' up there? No one's gunna keep a gun there, they gotta reach it."

Toby looked disappointed but didn't argue anymore.

"C'mon, there's nothin' here."

She obeyed, walking around the counter and following Daryl out. Daryl could hear the sleaves of her coat rubbing on the fabric, creating a loud fwish fwish sound. Rick approached as they walked outside.

"Did I hear shouting?" He asked.

Daryl shook his head. Rick didn't follow up.

Everyone got into the RV, including Daryl. A few weeks before he'd been lucky enough to find a trailer to attach to the RV to haul his bike. The weather had made it impossible to ride it.

They drove a few miles back the way they'd come. T-Dog, who was sitting in the passenger seat, called out and pointed, seeing a few houses.

"Did not see those before," Guillermo said. Over the winter he'd become more talkative, and more active throughout the group. He still refused to hold a gun, and sometimes froze up when killing Walkers, but he tried his best to help out and be a part of the group.

"We were in a hurry to get out of that storm," Rick remarked. "Could barely see anything."

"Pull over, we'll take a look before we go hunting," T-Dog said.

After pulling over, Rick told everyone what they were going to do. Once they were outside, Daryl tapped his shoulder.

"Not far from the trees. Gonna head out and see what I can find, want to get a head start. Rather not be waitin' 'round."

Rick nodded, "should I have Toby come with us or stay at the RV?"

"Bringin' her with me."

"You sure?"

Daryl raised an eyebrow, "brought her with me last time."

Daryl had been trying to take her out more, she wasn't bad with her slingshot. He thought it would be good to see how well she can handle herself in some situations, Daryl had been wanting to find her a weapon more adequate to hunt with. Her arms were too short to use his crossbow. Also, it wasn't a bad idea to have another set of eyes out there, especially when he was focusing on tracking and the hunt.

Rick only nodded. The others gathered, making plans to check out the few houses.

Daryl waited for Toby to step out, when she did, he told her: "leave yer coat. It's too loud."

Toby obeyed without a word, though it was cold, it wouldn't be too cold without it. She tossed it in the RV before heading out with him.

"Yer trackin' this time."

Toby tilted her head, "why?"

"'Cause I know you can. Keep your skills sharp, no bein' lazy. Got all yer knives?" Daryl glanced down at the sheath wrapped around her right thigh, he'd given it back to her a few weeks before.

They walked together into the wooded area they arrived at. Together they searched for tracks in the snow, every so often watching the trees for any signs of life.

Daryl broke the silence after fifteen minutes, keeping his voice low, "can ya shoot a bow?"

She nodded, "daddy taught me."

"Good. Maybe we can find you one."

Toby glanced up at him briefly, she looked doubtful. Daryl didn't blame her, they hadn't been able to find much of anything lately.

After a while, they were able to track down and kill two rabbits. After not seeing signs of anything else, they started back to the RV. Toby tracked them down, and Daryl shot them. He would've let her practice with her knives or slingshot, but the group was running too low on food to risk losing game.

They got back to the RV to find Rick waiting for them with a tired expression.

"Nothin'?" Daryl guessed.

"Nothing we can eat."

Everyone loaded into the RV and turned around, back in the direction of Carnesville.

2 weeks after

They'd found a house that'd been partially burned. All the windows were broken, the interior that hadn't been burned was completely torn apart, cupboards and doors ripped off the hinges, glass shards littered the floor.

Tyreese stood outside, staring down at the remains of a mattress that'd been dragged out into the front yard and burned.

"Anything that wasn't taken was destroyed," Sasha said.

"Why the hell would anyone do this?" Tyreese shook his head in dismay.

"Who knows?" T-Dog sighed, walking passed the sibling. "Let's just go, why are we still here?"

"This is not good. This is wrong." Guillermo stared at the house for a long time.

"How the hell are we going to make it without any food." Lori held a hand on her swollen belly, looking at Rick with concern.

"I see lots more hunting in our future." Was Rick's only answer.

3 weeks more

Everyone was relieved to see the weather had finally settled down, it'd been unpredictable for so long. There were only some patches of grass that remained frosted, but no snow. The group didn't seem to have to worry about it anymore. But the food problem was only getting worse, they'd find random cans here and there, but never a good amount of anything.

Any time they thought they were closing in on Carnesville, the group was deterred. There were roadblocks, traffic jams, and a large number of Walkers.

Lori stood outside, leaning against the RV. "There's no green beans, there's no corn. Hell . . . we're almost out of everything."

"If only we could have grabbed the canned food out of that house before we left, in the estates. Jesus what are we going to do?" T-Dog remarked.

"I try not to think about that, all we missed out on."

"That's all I think about."

Lori sighed a wave a nausea following her anxiousness. She tried not to worry about it all, the stress made her sick and weak. But how could she think of anything else?

"I'd kill for some pickles." Lori forced out a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'd kill for anything," T-Dog was quick to shot down whatever she was trying to do. "we need to find some food, quick. This hunting and foraging stuff just isn't cutting it, not by a longshot."

Lori was feeling sick earlier, so Rick made her stay and T-Dog volunteered to stay and watch out for Walkers or anything else. Carl was sleeping in the RV, he hadn't been able to sleep the night before.

The rest of them went hunting, Daryl was teaching the others what they needed to know.

Guillermo, Tyreese, Sasha, and Toby returned. Sasha and Tyreese were smiling.

"You found something?" Lori questioned.

"Deer." Tyreese answered, "don't have it yet, Daryl sent us back so we don't disrupt anything. Didn't want to risk losing it. Him and Rick are after it."

"You found a deer?" Carl asked, stepping out of the RV.

"Daryl found its tracks anyway," Sasha said.

"Damn," T-Dog was smiling. "The hell are we going to do with a whole deer? Can we eat a whole deer?"

Lori looked skeptical, "not tonight. What will we do with the rest, it would be an awful waste. Will we have to leave it behind?"

"Why would ya leave it?" Toby gave Lori a dumbfounded look.

Lori's eyes widened, even though Toby had been talking every so often, it was never to her.

"She just means if we can't save it somehow," Sasha explained. "Since we don't have wrapping or a fridge."

Toby's eyebrows were furrowed, she looked almost annoyed. "Ya just smoke it or cure it or dry it. The hell would ya leave it for? That's dumb." Toby shook her head, walking to the RV and opening the door to get inside.

Carl looked at his mom and shook his head as well, "yeah, mom, jeez." He then followed Toby inside.

Lori's jaw was down in shock, she looked back at Sasha, speechless.

"Think you just got told, mom." Sasha held in her laughter.

"I really did. How am I supposed to know any of that?"

"I honestly don't even understand what she said."

T-Dog was laughing. He tapped Tyreese on the shoulder, "C'mon, man, let's get a fire ready for that meat."

Sometime later, Rick and Daryl returned, dragging a dead deer with them. Daryl stared down at the fire, the corners of his eyes crinkling with disapproval.

"Ya use pine?"

T-Dog raised an eyebrow, "uh, yeah."

"Told him not to," Toby said. Daryl's eyes went to her, she was sitting on the ground near the RV, digging through her backpack.

"Did she?" Daryl asked T-Dog.

"Yeah, didn't get why though, she didn't say anything else about it. Didn't see why it mattered."

"She was right, put it out we'll start over. Gotta Dig a whole for the pit."

"Why?"

"Gonna smoke the meat."

"So why can't we use pine?"

"Don't want that pitch gettin' into the meat, it'll ruin it."

T-Dog raised an eyebrow at Sasha, who only shrugged.

Daryl got Toby to help him get the pit ready, Tyreese and T-Dog left to search for some other wood. In reality, Toby didn't do much to help, she didn't get why Daryl called her over. He was only digging while she stood there, watching.

"Can't just tell people random shit and expect them ta get what yer sayin'. I get you ain't in the mood to say much, but ya weren't really helpin'. Coulda told him why, not what."

"They're stupid."

Daryl stopped what he was doing. He scowled at her, "they ain't stupid, they just don't know."

Toby closed her eyes for a long period of time, Daryl suspected she was trying not to roll her eyes.

"No ones callin' you stupid 'cause ya can't read. What's yer problem? Ya been more cranky then usual lately."

She shook her head.

"Yeah, ya have."

He watched Toby as she bit her lip as if struggling. He stayed silent, waiting to see what would happen.

"Why are we goin' to Carnesville?" She asked finally.

"Tyreese, his wife, ex-wife, whatever. She lives there. He wants to see if she's alive."

"We just keep gettin' stuck. What if we get stuck there?"

Daryl was surprised with how concerned Toby looked, it was the most emotion he'd seen out of her in months.

"It's weird. I don't . . ." Toby trailed off, looking away.

Daryl waited for her to continue, but she didn't. He thought it over a little, before coming to his own conclusion, "It's the travelin', that what's got ya down? Shit sucks now, I know. We'll find more food, weather's gonna be calmin' down. We'll be fine."

Toby just turned around, starting to walk away.

Daryl stopped her, "Hey! Don't be takin' off. Yer helpin' me skin this deer."

Daryl soon built a fire pit suitable to smoke the leftover deer meat after T-Dog and Tyreese returned with wood.

He and Toby prepared the deer, T-Dog and Rick helped with cutting the meat. Daryl leaned wood pieces up against each other in the fire pit, using them to hang the meat on to smoke it. They cooked pieces to eat while letting others smoke.

They'd had to ration for so long, this was their first time having a full stomach in months.

"What do we do?" Sasha asked her brother, "in Carnesville, if nothing is there, what are we going to do?"

Tyreese and Rick exchanged glances, "if things don't work out. Can we stick with you? I know this whole trip is because we're all going to the same-"

"You don't even have to ask." Rick smiled softly. "We are together now. All of us."

"Sasha makes a good point." Lori turned to Rick. "We should have a plan."

Rick looked Lori over, his eyes lingering over her stomach.

"How long do you think you have?"

Lori was surprised at the question. Her eyes dropped, she seemed scared. "I-I'm not sure."

"Rough estimation?" Rick stared into the fire, his voice seemed, empty, almost detached.

"Two, three months? Maybe less."

Rick was quiet for a long time.

Daryl spoke up, "Still may take a bit to get there, but we're closing in."

"How long do you think it'll take, to get back to the farm? We've marked down most of the roadblocks, we know the issues we've had. Snow shouldn't be a problem by the time we decide to go back, if we decide to go back."

"A few weeks?" T-Dog guessed. "Depending on the route we map out. Every road we've been taking is almost guesswork now, going in different directions hoping it's not blocked, then we find out it is. We know where we've gone wrong, I don't think getting back will be as hard."

Rick nodded, "if there's nothing. If there are no other solutions, ideas. We're going back toward the farm."

"We are not wanted there," Guillermo said.

"Hershel told me if we really need his help when Lori goes into labor he'll help. I'm not saying we'll go there, but we're heading in that direction. When we're in that area we'll figure out new places nearby."

"We saw everything nearby." T-Dog chided.

"I meant a bit further than nearby. It'll be closer than we are to him now. We'll figure it out if we ever go." Rick's voice was determined as if the decision was made.

No one argued.

Two weeks later

"Stop!"

The RV made a horrible screeching sound as it skidded to a halt.

"Everyone out!" Rick yelled from the passenger seat. Everyone was confused, asking their questions as they climbed out. Rick answered none, waiting for everyone to be out.

"Oh my goodness," Lori exclaimed when she was out, standing in the road. She had to look around first, searching for the source of their stopping. And there it was, a large sign at the side of the road.

The others gasped and smiled. Tyreese and Sasha hugged.

"Man, I wish I had a camera. If this isn't a crowning achievement I don't know what is!" T-Dog exclaimed excitedly. Even Daryl seemed to be breathing easier.

Toby stood further from the rest, confused. She saw the sign, but didn't understand, after all, they passed hundreds of signs before.

Daryl spotted her, he noticed she was the only one not happy or even relieved. He went over to her, smiling slightly.

"It's a Welcome sign." Daryl read the sign out loud for her.

Welcome to Franklin County:

City of Carnesville

Population: 577

He waited for her reaction. He watched as her lip quivered slightly, she took a deep breath and ran back to the RV, the door slammed shut behind her.

Everyone paused, turning around.

Daryl didn't look at the others, he knew they were looking, he just decided to pretend that interaction didn't happen.

Here I am!

Sorry for my absence. Kinda been stupid lately, letting myself be lazy and depressed. Trying to pick myself up more. Going to make myself doing some more writing. It does make me feel better to accomplish things.

I fly out to Newfoundland to stay with my Dad on June 10th. Been excited for that, with all the shit going on here I'm excited to get away from everything. I'm starting the next chapter as you're reading this one.

I hope you enjoy

Also Goodluck to anyone having exams soon. and to those who've already finished, I know its been a struggle but I'm sure you beat the hell out of them.